Rei and Set walked through the forest.
There was no one else around — just the two of them, one person and one creature.
They had started out keeping a wary eye on their surroundings, but by now their guard had dropped considerably.
The reason was simple: after entering the forest and splitting up according to the teams Marina had assigned, not a single monster had shown any sign of attacking Rei and Set.
(The other teams probably aren't getting attacked either, come to think of it.)
Rei mulled this over as he scanned the area.
Even straining his ears, the only sounds that reached him were birdsong and the wind rustling through the trees.
It was hard to believe there were any monsters in this forest at all.
"Could it be that since the World Tree recovered, there are no monsters left inside here?"
Infused with Rei's mana, the World Tree had recovered significantly.
If that were the case, then the barrier it projected around the area should have grown stronger as well — strong enough to prevent anything new from wandering into the labyrinth barrier.
"No, even if the labyrinth barrier was strengthened, it probably has no effect on anything already inside it."
After all, if the labyrinth barrier's influence extended to those standing in the space between the protective barrier and the labyrinth barrier, then Rei and his group should have been getting lost too.
In other words, even with the World Tree's recovery, there was nothing to be done about the monsters and people already caught between the barriers.
(The World Tree has regained its power, so the protective barrier must be stronger too. It's probably safer than before, at least.)
As Rei murmured while surveying the area, Set turned its round eyes toward him as if asking what was wrong.
"No, it's nothing. It's just... even if we're looking for an Aerowing for your sake, at this rate I doubt we'll find one."
"Guruuu..."
At Rei's words, Set let out a disappointed rumble.
Rei looked around, but while on the ground in the middle of a forest, the trees growing all around would inevitably block their line of sight.
"Hey, calm down. If it comes to it, we can just fly and search from the sky. They said there's a barrier up above too, but right above the treetops should be fine."
"Guruu?"
Set turned a questioning gaze toward him, as if asking Really? Rei nodded, then changed the subject.
"Since we finally get to act on our own, why don't we test out some new skills?"
"Gurururururuu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a happy cry.
Through skill acquisition, the same skill had leveled up in succession.
Naturally, it made sense to want to test that out.
And it wasn't just Set. Rei, who had upgraded Flying Slash using Death Scythe, felt the same way.
As he considered what he might test it on while looking around, the nearby bushes suddenly rustled violently.
Both Rei and Set sensed it at the same time. With the tension of Could it be a monster? they turned their gazes toward the shaking bushes.
Death Scythe was gripped in Rei's hand, and Set had taken a stance ready to attack at any moment.
They watched intently, waiting for something to emerge from the bushes...
"Porururu!"
Along with that cry, what emerged from the bushes was a nine-tailed Carbuncle.
Struck by a sense of déjà vu, Rei let out a sigh.
"Why are you wandering around on your own? You were supposed to be with As and Marina, weren't you?"
"Pororo? Poruu!"
"...This scene has played out before, hasn't it."
Watching Poro run circles around Set, Rei realized the source of his déjà vu.
That's right — Poro bursting out of the bushes was the exact same scene as when Rei had first encountered Poro and As.
"Poruru, porororo!"
Seeing Poro looking inexplicably delighted, Set was drawn in and rumbled along with it.
"Gurururu, gururu."
Watching the two of them amiably rumbling at each other from the corner of his eye, Rei gave up on testing his skills.
He didn't think Poro watching would be a problem, but at the same time, there was the possibility that detailed information about his skills might reach As.
Besides, if he suddenly started test-firing skills, Poro might wonder what he was doing.
(I don't know whether Poro would pick up on that kind of thing, but better safe than sorry.)
Watching Poro leap onto Set's back and let out a victory cry of "Porurururu," Rei let out a small sigh.
It wasn't that he suspected As.
They had only interacted for a short time, but he understood that As was by no means a bad person.
Being bombarded with stories about past heroes during meals had been somewhat tedious, but if it came down to personal taste, that was the end of it.
But even so, he had only just met As. Fully trusting him the way he trusted Elena, Vihera, or Marina was difficult.
Granted, he had known Marina for a decent amount of time too, but even so, he didn't trust her quite as much as Elena or Vihera.
This was purely a matter of how long they had known each other.
In fact, given their journey to this forest and their interactions since arriving at the settlement, it was an undeniable fact that Rei held some form of goodwill toward Marina.
...Whether that was romantic goodwill between a man and a woman, or goodwill toward someone he could trust, he set that question aside.
"Poro, porururururuu!"
Poro walked all over Set's back, then in the next moment climbed onto Set's head, or slid down Set's neck like a slide — it was running around Set's body as if it were some kind of plaything.
(It's really getting carried away. Could it be that losing to Ielo in that race earlier still stings?)
When Rei and Set had finished absorbing Magic Stones and were heading to the house Elena and the others had borrowed, a race to Set's back had suddenly broken out.
In terms of pure speed, Poro had the advantage. But the difference between Poro, who ran on the ground, and Ielo, who flew through the air, was greater than expected. In the end, Ielo reached Set's back first and claimed victory.
Perhaps stung by that loss, Poro was now frolicking as if venting its frustrations to its heart's content. Set rumbled with a slightly troubled air as Poro ran all over its body.
"Guruuu..."
Set sent Rei a look asking for help, but Rei merely watched Set's predicament with amusement.
Of course, if Set truly found it unbearable, it would shake Poro off or do something about it.
The fact that it didn't meant that, despite everything, Set was fond of Poro.
"Well, it's a monster friend Set made. Give it a little more time."
"Guruu."
Set rumbled as if to say I guess there's no helping it.
In truth, Set had surprisingly few monster friends.
The only one that could clearly be called a friend was, at present, Ielo.
Tamers were inherently few in number to begin with, and the very sight of a monster accompanying a person was rare in itself.
...Considering that Rei and Set's relationship was actually not a Taming but a bond through Beast Magic, and Elena and Ielo's relationship took the form of a Familiar, Poro could be called Set's first officially Tamed Monster friend.
(I met a Tamer when we visited a port town before, but that was the end of that.)
The image of the Tamer who had Tamed an Ice Bird briefly crossed his mind, but the memory faded just as quickly.
When he turned his gaze back to Set, he found that Set was no longer looking troubled — rather, it had begun proactively playing with Poro.
"Ah... well, I can't test my skills anyway, so I guess it can't be helped."
Muttering as he watched the two of them, Rei let out a sigh of resignation.
"Set, for now what we need to do is find the abnormality in the forest, and if possible, resolve it. Playing with Poro is fine, but make sure you keep an eye on that too."
"Guruu? Gurururuu!"
Set rumbled as if to say Leave it to me! and strode forward, leading the way for Rei.
Naturally, Poro was riding on Set's back, but having played with Set to its satisfaction, it was now vigilantly watching the surroundings from atop Set's back.
"All things considered, it's become one person and two creatures. ...More importantly, Poro, is it really okay for you to leave As hanging? You're a Tamed Monster, so I think you should keep a proper eye on As too."
"Poro? Porururuu!"
Poro tilted its head at Rei's words, then let out a small cry.
Whether that cry meant it had properly understood what Rei was saying, or whether it was an expression of not knowing what he was talking about — even Rei couldn't tell.
But regardless, he judged that Poro's cry at least meant it had somewhat understood, and he continued following Set while checking the area for anything unusual.
"There really are no monsters anywhere."
Hearing Rei mutter as he looked around, Set suddenly seemed to realize something and scanned its surroundings.
One of their original objectives this time had been to defeat an Aerowing.
But playing with Poro had made it completely forget about that.
"Guruu! Gururuu, gururururuu!"
Set looked around in a slight panic, but unfortunately, there was no Aerowing to be found anywhere.
"Guruu—..."
Seeing Set cry out sadly, Rei reached out to pat its head... only to notice that Poro was sitting on top of Set's head.
"Poro? Porururu"
Leaving Poro to its cry, Rei reached for Set's neck and stroked it instead.
"Hey, Set. Aerowings fly through the sky, so why don't we fly and search from up there too?"
"Guruu?"
Set turned a gaze toward him as if asking Can we? Rei nodded as if to say Of course.
After all, they were searching for a flying monster. If they stayed on the ground, they wouldn't find one even if it was right there.
"Gururururuu!"
Set let out a happy cry and turned its back toward Rei.
Rei immediately understood what was being asked and mounted Set's back.
Set took a few running steps, then beat its wings and launched itself into the sky.
However, Set understood Marina's warning as well, so it didn't climb too high.
It flew at just above the height of the surrounding trees.
They searched for the distinctive silhouette of an Aerowing with its four wings, but unfortunately, a single glance around was enough to tell them there were none to be found.
"...They're not here. Is the World Tree's treatment affecting things after all?"
"Pororororo! Porurururu!"
Near the muttering Rei, Poro continued to cry out loudly in excitement.
For Poro, which ran on the ground, flying through the sky was apparently something special.
Especially having just lost to the flying Ielo — that was undoubtedly related to its current excitement.
"Ah, hey. Come on, calm down. If you fall from this height... well, you're a Carbuncle Rare Species, so would a fall from this height even be a problem?"
A B-Rank monster's Rare Species — in other words, it possessed power equivalent to an A-Rank monster. Falling from a height of ten or twenty meters shouldn't be enough to do any real damage.
Even so, Rei carefully restrained Poro's movements with a worried expression — perhaps because even a high-rank monster looked small on the outside.
As he silently appreciated the pleasant texture of the fur under his restraining hand, he suddenly spotted something moving below.
For a moment, Rei thought An Aerowing? — but Aerowings were flying monsters. They didn't stay on the ground.
Of course, that didn't mean they never landed, so it wasn't an absolute impossibility.
Even so, from Rei's perspective, a monster moving on the ground being an Aerowing was all but a foregone conclusion.
In fact, when he looked more carefully, what was down there wasn't a monster at all — it was a human.
Moreover, it was someone Rei recognized.
"Set."
"Guruu."
Understanding what Rei meant from that brief call, Set descended straight toward the ground.
"Whoa! ...Poro! Where did you suddenly run off to?! I was looking for you! Apologize to Marina later. When she noticed you were gone, she told me to go search for you."
Startled by Set's descent but still scolding Poro, the person on the ground was As.